Hearts of Iron
by The Grand Master
Summary: When one of the two lost primarchs is found, its a race to get to him first as the imperium and chaos battle it out. The Black legion of Abbadon has joined in the fight, and apeaceful panet is wracked with war.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I dont own 40k, or any of the unit names or anything else in here, but character names.

"Dear god emperor, in who's divine light I flourish, I beseech thee to grant me the strength to carry through this horror." Iron Father Zaltyd walked down the line of seated Iron Hands space marines, repeating prayers. The twenty odd soldiers answered in complete synchronization, a low rumble echoing through the halls of the dark dropship.

" I am a servant of the Emperor." began Zaltyd, rounding on his heel and beginning to walk down the length of the ship again. His voice echoed and boomed, thanks to the vox-system in his armor.

"We serve His divine will." replied the marines at once

"I fight for His peace."

"Blessed Be the warriors."

"I die for Him."

"Our souls shall be guarded."

"When our lord created the twenty primarchs to lead his forces through the galaxy, the traitor Horus was able to prevent two of the brothers from being found by the blessed emperor. One was sent back in time hundreds of millennia, unable to be found. We can only hope and pray that he has followed his mission and done his best for the human peoples that lived then. The cursed betrayer then prevented one of his brothers from being discovered by the Lord." stated Zaltyd, walking up and down again. "He was dormant and undiscovered for thousands of years. Now, he has been found." A thunderous cheer broke out from the marines. " The traitorous warriors of the 'Emperor's Children' converge on the surface of this unnamed world as well. There will be much fighting, and we will have to push through their lines, and reclaim our lost primarch."

The dropships ground into the wet sand of the beach they landed in, rain drenching the hulls. The sky was the color of a soot blackened bolter, and rumbled with thunder. The front gates creaked opens and teams of marines charged out, weapons raised. A massive venerable dreadnought exited a transport, motioning with it's massive fist, it's plasma cannon oozing energy. Zaltyd slammed a round into his shoulder mounted bolter and activated his power fist. In his left hand he grasped a power axe which crackled with power.

"Forwards! Crush them! Their flesh is weak, our iron blades are strong, or souls hard as steel!" he screamed. The booming voice of a dreadnought echoed across the beach, shouting orders to it's soldiers. The Space Marines surged forwards, a cloud of bolter fire erupting from them.

The Emperor's Children atop the dunes fell in droves, riddled by bolter fire. Brother Isaac of Zaltyd's platoon brought his weapon up to his eye and fired, streams of bright purple plasma arcing towards the traitors. A nest of traitor heavy weapons awakened, spewing out missiles and heavy bolter fire. The missiles were silenced by a well placed lascannon shot from a predator annihilator, and a dreadnought's multi-melta reduced the rest to a smoking heap of ash.

The Iron Hands leapt over the dunes, meeting the traitors in close combat. Chainswords and bayonets flashed, and brother Virag's flamer crackled and hissed beside Zaltyd. The Iron Father powered his energy fist and eviscerated a traitor marine, his blood fountaining into the rain. With a sweep of his power axe, another was cleaved from shoulder to pelvis and brother Czelgur ran up, chainsword covered in gore, and preceded to dismember a pair of Noise Marines, blood and entrails covering everything. A dreadnought charged in, inferno cannon spitting, knocking aside Noise Marines. With a scream, Brother Czelgur was shredded before Zaltyd's eyes. He barely had time to blink before his killer stepped over Czelgur's body.

He was clad in the whirring armor of a terminator, though desecrated with Slaaneshi symbols and with two great horns extending from the helmet. A pair of lightning claws dripped with Czelgur's blood.

"You are indeed a great warrior," it rumbled, eyeing the butchered Emperor's Children surrounding Zaltyd "This will be a kill to savor."

The beast came at him quickly, claws raised. Zaltyd fired his bolter twice and swung his axe at the terminator's helmet. It bounced off a power claw raised to block, and the second claw moved to stab. One of Zaltyd's servo arm's saved his life, grabbing the traitors wrist and twisting. With his momentum lost in his bulky armor, Zaltyd flipped around and crushed his body and armor all in one, blood running in rivers.

"Report." ordered Zaltyd into the vox link.

" Virag here, 3 dead."

"Isaac here,1 dead."

"Trythios here" voxed the deep voice of a dreadnought. "5 wounded."

"All right then marines, we'll set up a small camp here and wait for the White Scars to land. Until then, I want you all organized into large groups. Start looking around, see if you can find any indigious life. Someone will need to head to the shore to the east as well, the Kolstec 317th Imperial Guard have landed." ordered the Iron Father. A chorus of hasty affirmatives sounded, and the marines organized into groups and prepared to begin searching for their last primarch. Emperor's Children and Alpha Legion soldiers were landing as well. They would be dealt with just as their brethren had been. Mercillesly.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: see first chapter

The rainstorm picked up during the night. More ships of marines and guardsmen from Kolstec and Krieg arrived overnight, some engaging Chaos ships in orbit. Lights flashed from above the dark clouds for hours as the battleships engaged in fierce firefights. Once, the burned out hulk of chaos cruiser bearing the signs of the alpha legion fell through the sky, trailing flames and smoke, and burning apart in the atmosphere, charred bits falling into the churning oceans that covered most of the planet.

The howls of Emperor's children as they charged into battle echoed throughout the night, as well as the gruff shouts of the Alpha Legion and the Iron Hands as they fought. Weapons discharging could be heard, making some of the guardsmen of the Kolstec division nervous.

Zaltyd stood at the fore of his platoon, rain rolling off his helmet as he led his proud warriors forth. They walked in two columns, armor and dreadnoughts in the center, the columns of infantry surrounding them.

"Report." he ordered curtly, placing his axe in his back and removing his shoulder mounted bolter, slamming a sickle mag into the side feed.

"Commander Okkodai here, White Scars chapter, 5th company. We have engaged the Alpha Legion, and are currently quickly pursuing."

"Lord Militant General Johaan van Strommel here, Krieg Death corps. We wiped out a group of Noise Marines and are quickly moving across the countryside. So far, we have come across three cave communities that were not destroyed. The people here use a chemical rifle similar to a weak melta. It is able to penetrate marine armour, if it gets a lucky hit."

"Dreadnought-Commander Thordian here." voxed a dreadnought. Heavy bolter fire and shouts could be heard, as well as the firing of the dreadnought's twin lascannons. "We have come under heavy attack by the Alpha Legion. We will be out of commission for several hours."

Several hours passed before Zaltyd saw the first signs of human life. Orange light flickered from a cluster of caves, and a group of humans with strange weapons cam out to greet them. The first came up to Zaltyd and bowed low.

"I am called Rukil off-worlder." He said in heavily accented low Gothic. "I am the leader of this village." he gestured around himself, at the group of grey clad militia. "If you seek the Lord, like the others who came before you, Aurrius is at the main continent, thousands of hectares from here." Zaltyd nodded. Aurrius was probably the name given to the primarch.

"The others who came before us," he asked "What did they look like?" Rukil shrugged.

"Tall and in bright, pointed armor and pointed ears. Full of arrogance and power."

Zaltyd turned away for a moment. So the Eldar were here too.

Rukil and a dozen of his militia joined Zaltyd's platoon, riding in the lead Land Raider with Zaltyd and his veteran honor guards. The column had loaded up in vehicles, realizing that time was of the essence. The dreadnought trio that accompanied them clambered into thunderhawk gunships which flew low to the ground. Groups of landspeeders and White Scars bikers raced around fighting with chaos vehicles. The entire planet was a warzone, between Imperials and locals trying to establish a foothold to get up some equipment sent down and the chaos forces trying dearly to defend their transports. More ships of troops landed every hour, escalating the conflict. The Kolstec tank division couldn't be sent down, thanks to a lack of camps, and the Krieg had 5 Leman Russ battle tanks to a thousand guardsmen.

They had been traveling for almost two hours when an autocannon shell slammed into the side of the nearest predator. Alpha Legion Marines poured over the surrounding hills, firing indiscriminately into the armored column. The wounded predator's right sponson bolter and it's auto cannon opened fire, joined by that of the other vehicles. Transports came forward and vomited forth Iron Hands marines, who in turn spat bolter fire at the oncoming Alpha Legion.

Zaltyd's warriors charged out of their land raider, opening up with bolters. The Iron Father rammed a sickle mag home into his bolter and pulled the trigger, leaving his axe on his back. Rain still cascaded from the heavens and and unearthly scene unfolded before him. Lights from the orbital battle still flashed above the clouds, and oil fires burned from flamers, casting a reflection on the water and wet cliffs. Bright white bolter fire sprayed out in the dark, lighting up the battlefield. Bright purple beams of plasma struck the traitor marines, and bright blue and red las shots discharged from both sides.

As bolter shots from Zaltyd turned an enemy marine into a gory pulp, he noticed something strange. What he thought had just been a trick of the light, hadn't been so at all. When he saw the marines charging down the hill, their armor gleamed a dull black, instead of the customary dark silver of the Alpha legion. He thought it was the absence of light, making it difficult for his eyes to fully see colors. Maybe of he was still some weak eyed Imperial Guardsmen, but that hadn't been so for several centuries. The Black Legion, The Sons of Horus, had joined in the battle for the last primarch.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: first chappie (see)

Screaming obscenities and blasphemous hymns from vox enhanced helmet casters, the Black Legion surged forward. The Iron Hands, the death of Ferrus Manus still a wrong not righted, spat their own oaths and war cries, and charged forward. Zaltyd fired three bursts from his bolter, exploding the chest of traitor, and punching a hole through the eye slit of another.

A team of Black Legion charged Zaltyd and his guards, chainswords and powerfists raised. Hooking his holy bolter to hooks on his armor, the Iron Father activated his own power axe and diverted power into his crackling energy fist. Raising his bionic right arm high, axe gripped tightly, Zaltyd screamed a cry.

"The flesh is weak!!!!!" he screamed into the rain, over and over, raising cries from his fellows. With a downward blow, a traitor marine was split in twain.

Almost immediately, the sand was drenched in diluted blood. Brothers Isaac and Rikard fought side by side with chainswords, in duels to the death with a pair of opponents. A bolter slammed into Zaltyd's helmet with such force that the towering warrior nearly collapsed. He turned to see a traitor holding a bayoneted bolter up for another strike. Coldly, wordlessly, Zaltyd reached out with his power fist, the bayonet snapping on his bionic, and grabbed the enemy by the face. A little pressure, and Zaltyd was soaked with blood.

The melee still ground on. Neither side gave ground, and everyone had found an equal opponent, even one of the dreadnoughts who grappled with a behemoth death machine with eight pointed stars daubed in blood on its armor.

Zaltyd disdainfully tossed the headless corpse aside. From the concentration of soldiers in his area, he saw the favored "slay the leader" tactic of the Black Legion. Regrouping, the Iron Hands armor sped forwards, firing all weapons. The gunships screeched low, heavy guns blaring.

With another mighty sweep, an obliterator fell to Zaltyd, a huge gash opened in its back. A power fist blow crushed another, and the Iron Father catapulted himself into another, feeling its face crunch beneath his power fist. Chainswords whirring and spitting out blood and flesh, Rikard, Isaac and Wilhelm ran upwards, though in a flash of steel and red, Rikard's bionic left arm was severed at the elbow. The twisted machinery spat sparks as Rikard dropped his chainsword onto the blood and water slick sand. Wilhelm rushed forwards and beheaded the attacker, and was blindsided by another, both swords flying up into the air while their wielders punched and grappled with each other, challenges and oath hissed out from their helmets. Isaac rushed forwards and pushed Rikard back, who had drawn his knife in his good hand. Roaring, Zaltyd leapt in, cleaving a traitor from pelvis to shoulder and punching another in the face with his powered glove. The plasma guns on his servo harness (more often used as a weapon than a tool) spat their purple beams, and a pair of grappler fists swept down and snapped the neck of a Raptor with a lighting claw that charged the wounded Rikard.

Pulling his combat knife out, Wilhelm butted the traitor in the face with his helmet and stabbed through one of his hearts. Stifling a screech of pain, the traitor punched Wihelm in the face, and pulled out his own sidearm, a bolt pistol emblazoned with the eight pointed star of chaos. He leapt on Wilhelm, kicking with both legs, knocking the wind out of the marine. He cackled deeply and leveled the gun at Wilhelm's head.

"Beg,scum. Grovel. Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you right now. Join us perha-?"

" Go to hell!" roared Wilhelm, and snapped the wrist of the hand holding the pistol. They struggled some more, fighting for ownership of the gun. As the Chaos Marine raised his right hand,trying to break the Iron Hand's neck, Wilhelm felt the handle of a bolt pistol slide into his hand. The chaos marine's good hand raised to break Wilhelm's neck, the Iron Hands initiate pulled the trigger of the bolt pistol, putting six rounds through the bowels of the enemy. With a kick, the profusely bleeding traitor slid onto the sand and Wilhelm flipped back upward. He looked back coldly at the wounded marine, and shot him between the eyes. Around him, the fighting seemed to be evaporating as more Iron Hands arrived to join the fray. He tossed the sidearm aside and drew his own, bending down to retrieve his knife, still buried in the first heart of the corpse.

"Look out!" someone screamed and Wilhelm flipped around, just in time to see a power sword arcing toward his face.

With a grunt, Zaltyd lunged forwards towards the exposed Chaos Marine champion's flank. He grabbed him by the rib plating of its armor, and slowly crushed it with his power fist. He reached the massive glove down to Wilhelm, who used it to haul himself up. Underneath his helmet, an eyebrow was raised.

"Are you alright?" he asked, turning back to the scene, where the remnants of the Black Legion task force retreated, harried by a group of bikers from the White Scars. Wilhelm holstered his blade and sidearm and picked up his bolter.

" A little banged up sir, but otherwise okay."

With brother Rikard wielding a plasma pistol in his good hand, Zaltyd and his bodyguards pushed back the Black Legionaires attacking them. The majority of them retreated, trading sporadic bolter fire with the defenders, rather than get bogged down in a long fight they couldn't win. The Iron Father was sure that he was the target of that operation.

After collecting the dead, the Iron Hands packed into their transports and continued their trek to the far shore. The fighting had spooked the locals, who clustered together and barely spoke, hands clenching and unclenching on the handles of their exotic carbine like weapons. Zaltyd sat at the front inside the Land Raider, listening to vox traffic. All sorts of reports came in though the system. Two other Iron Hands task forces punched through a defensive line held by the skilled Iron Warriors, and now battled against the main force on the open plains of the far continent. A large Ultramarines force now fought with the Krieg against a massive force of the Word Bearers Legion.

By far the worst news though was that the entire Kolstec regiment had been wiped out to a man over the night by the Night Lords. 25,000 soldiers slaughtered on the beaches. Imperial High Command, consulting with Marneus Calgar and other Astartes leaders had decreed that this small planet had the utmost priority, diverted a dozen regiments of the Imperial Guard, an entire Adeptus Mechanicus company and thousands of more Astartes drawn from the chapters Raven Guard, Space Wolves, Salamanders, the Dark Angels, Imperial Fists and the Blood Angels. As if in response, the chaos marines had called their brethren from the World Eaters, The Death Guard and the Thousand Sons. Rumours abounded the overall commander of the chaos forces was Fulgrim himself.


End file.
